Setup Windows

Installing an Editor

Editors are often a personal choice. Their primary function is to allow the creation and editing of code. Additional functionality may be included such as code intelligence, code completion, static analysis, testing, debugging, etc. usually through plugins. Some editors are also IDEs or integrated development environments. They can help manage the lifetime of a project. For this tutorial, you only need an editor and none of the extra functionality, but an IDE may be very helpful when learning programming (or Python) for the first time.

The following editors are all excellent for python development. You only need one.

Note that these are listed in order of decreasing preference for development with python as a beginner. (i.e. pick one of the top ones for the best out of the box python experience)

Installing libtcod

Download the latest release of libtcod 1.6 and extract it somewhere. Be warned that both Python and libtcod must either be both 32 bit, or both 64 bit. If you get dll loading errors, getting this wrong is the most likely cause. libtcod will now (as of 1.6.2 and above) check they are compatible, and tell you if they are not.

Installing Python

Python Executable

If you haven't already done so, download and install Python 3.6. Any version of Python 3, from 3.6 and above should be fine, but the latest update (of Python 3, not Python 2) is of course always preferable.

There are reports that for older versions of libtcod on 64-bit Windows (Windows 7) that the 32 bit version is preferable, since the 64 bit version of Python seems to cause problems with libtcod. This was been tested on Windows 10 with libtcod 1.6, and was not reproducible, so it's up to you.

It might be advisable to go with 32 bit just to keep things simple, and when you're gone through the tutorial look at switching to 64 bit if it matters to you to do so, and if you do encounter errors specifically related to this, report them on the libtcod bug tracker.

Validating Python with libtcod

Open a command prompt (windows key + R: cmd)

Navigate to the folder you extracted the libtcod.zip to and run the following command:

c:\> python -c "import libtcodpy"

Setting up your Project

Folder structure

Our first roguelike will be run entirely from a single file, firstrl.py. However, to support some future needs regarding packaging and to make development easier, we need to add our dependencies into the project folder.

When we're all done, the basic folder structure should look like this:

\project\

\libtcodpy\

\tests\

\firstrl.py

The images below should help further qualify.

Creating your project folder

Now create your project's folder. Inside it, create an empty file with a name of your choice. We're using firstrl.py. It'll make the tutorial easier to just use the same name, and you can always rename it later.

From within the libtcod build you downloaded above, select and copy the relevant DLLs.

From within the libtcod build you downloaded above, select and copy the libtcodpy folder.

From within the libtcod build you downloaded above, select and copy the arial10x10.png font. If you choose a different one, you'll need to adjust how you do the tutorial accordingly. It's simpler to just use the same one as we do, and change it later, if it suits you to do so.

At this point, you should have a folder that looks like this:

Validating the setup

libtcod is compiled with the latest official release of Visual Studio. In an ideal world, it should just run, and if you have recently updated games installed from Steam or perhaps even some modern applications, it should. However, some people lack the support for that latest release of Visual Studio, and these steps help update your computer to allow libtcod to be run.

Within the libtcod release you just extracted, you will see a file called samples.exe.

Run samples.exe and verify that it appears to work. If it opens a colourful window, then it is now verified as working for you.

If it just doesn't start and instead you see a message about vcruntime140.dll being required, then you need to install the correct Visual Studio 2017 runtime.

Go to the latest Microsoft Visual Studio runtime download page, and download and install the runtime that matches the Python and libtcod you are using. If you are using 32 bit Python and libtcod, this will be the x86 runtime. If you are using the 64 bit Python and libtcod, this will be the x64 runtime. (Tip: If you think you might switch from 32 bit to 64 bit in the future, hedge your bets and install both runtimes to prevent future problems.)

Once you've installed the correct runtime, run samples.exe and verify that it now appears to work. If it still gives the same message, you didn't install the correct runtime. If it opens a colourful window, then it is now verified as working for you.

If it is not verified as working for you, you can open a libtcod bug report on BitBucket.

You've verified that libtcod is working? Great! You can move onto the next section.